Most Asian currencies down late
Most Asian currencies down late
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Unable to shake off their woes from the previous year, most Asian currencies remained under pressure late Tuesday, with the Philippine peso reeling to a new low on the first trading day of 2001.
The South Korean won, the Thai baht and the Singapore dollar were also weaker. Bucking the trend, the New Taiwan dollar and the Indonesian rupiah were stronger.
Uncertainty over global growth, particularly over whether the U.S. economy will experience a bumpy or soft landing, and heightened political tensions in several trouble spots in the region continued to cast a shadow on Asian foreign exchange markets, dealers said.
The dollar closed the Asian day at Rp 9,440, down from opening levels of Rp 9,670 to Rp 9,720.
State bank dollar selling, which is often on behalf of the central bank to help the rupiah, had more effect than normal as many players are still on holiday after the New Year.
"It's still a thin market and state banks are selling quite a lot of dollars," a local trader said.
Many private companies, which need dollars to repay debt, aren't yet in the market, he said.
The dollar should trade in a Rp 9,400 to Rp 9,700 range for the rest of the week, barring any unforeseen shocks.
Last week, while Indonesian onshore traders were on holiday, the dollar rose to levels above Rp 9,700 following a number of bomb blasts at churches across the country. That level was off almost 40 percent from the start of 2000.
The Philippine peso treaded into uncharted waters as a spate of bombings in Manila over the weekend threw the country into greater political chaos, ahead of President Joseph Estrada's impeachment trial which resumed Tuesday.
The peso skidded to a record low of 52 pesos against the dollar early Tuesday in a knee-jerk reaction to the bombings, surpassing its previous low of 51.95 pesos to the dollar set Oct. 31. The embattled currency, however, recouped some of its losses on fears of central bank intervention and profit-taking in the dollar, dealers said.
The dollar closed at 51.00 pesos on the Philippine Dealing System, up from Friday's close of 50.01 pesos.
The Thai baht weakened in line with the peso and heightened political jitters ahead of Thailand's general election Saturday. Thaksin Shinawatra, the leading candidate for prime minister, faces a five-year ban from holding political office after an anti-corruption commission ruled that he concealed assets while serving in a previous government.
Trading in the baht market was thin as it was confined to the offshore market, as Thai financial markets were closed Tuesday for a holiday.
The dollar was at 43.605 baht, up from 43.25 baht last Friday.
The South Korean won closed sharply lower on dollar-buying by local importers, and as most local exporters refrained from selling the U.S. currency, dealers said.
The dollar finished at 1,276.40 won, the highest close since Nov. 19, 1998, when it ended at 1,287 won. The dollar closed at 1,264.50 won Friday.
The regional currency weakness rubbed off onto the Singapore dollar, which weakened to S$1.7353 against the U.S. dollar, compared with S$1.7334 late Friday.
Resisting the downward pressure, the New Taiwan dollar rose to a new one-month high, as the local bourse surged 4.1 percent, dealers said.
The U.S. dollar ended lower at NT$32.943, from Saturday's NT$32.992.
However, analysts said the New Taiwan dollar's rally will likely be short-lived.
Bank of America said concerns lingered over a possible liquidity crisis before the Chinese New Year on Jan. 24.
"There is no reason to change the bearish view on the New Taiwan dollar yet and we continue to see (the U.S. dollar) move toward NT$33.50 in the near term," the bank said.